Armed ethnic group in Myanmar battles to hold prized city

Red flags fly over Lashio, Myanmar, seized by ethnic minority group linked to China in major defeat for military.

Red flags flutter over bullet-scarred buildings in the strategic Myanmar city of Lashio, which an ethnic minority armed group linked to China seized from the military in its biggest defeat for decades.

Lashio is the largest urban centre to fall to any of Myanmar’s myriad ethnic minority armed groups — who have been fighting the central authorities on and off for decades — since the military first seized power in 1962.

But analysts said the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) will struggle to govern Lashio, which straddles a key trade route to China and normally has a population of 1,50,000.

Most fled during the weeks of fighting that culminated in the city’s capture last month, and those who remain fear a return to the bloody violence.

Residents and rescue groups said dozens of civilians were killed or wounded as the military pounded the town with air strikes and both sides launched rockets and shells at each other.

While the fighting has eased since August, junta planes are still flying sorties and conducting air strikes, including on Monday (September 23, 2024) and Tuesday (September 24, 2024) night.

“We cannot say Lashio is back to normal but everyone is trying to act like it is normal,” real estate agent Soe Soe said.